Trip log: Gangtok, Dzongu & Gurudongmar Lake in September, 2009

I know it's been a long time since I went there. The log was written long back .. but I didn't post it earlier. Well .. here goes.

Trip was in September, 2009.
It was me and two other friends: J from Gurgaon & N from Kolkata.

The pictures can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7564891...7622331489719/

Log from the next post.

P.S. I know this has gotten too long. Didn't know what to include and what not to include. So wrote all of what came to my mind. Kindly bear

The day finally arrived. I met my friend J at the airport and we flew to Bagdogra. N joined us from Kolkata (via train to New Jalpaigudi). The three of us set-off to Gangtok on a pre-paid cab from the airport (Rs. 1,500/-).

It took us 4 – 5 hours to reach Gangtok. We stayed at cheap but ok-type hotel Natraj in Deoarli, not too far from MG Road. The hotel was pre-booked by J’s sweet friend Laku from Sikkim. Gyatso, who was J’s friend from his earlier visit to Sikkim, joined us. We went to MG Road from there and finally settled at Allen’s kitchen to eat.

We settled with a mug each of Hit beer (local favorite, manufactured by Danny Denzongpa’s breweries), Beef Chilli, Tandoori Chicken (not good) and chicken momos (awesome). We discussed our plans with Gyatso and decided to give Nathu-La, Changu lake etc. a miss. Instead we decided to head to Dzongu the next day while someone arranged for our permits to Gurudongmar Lake. It seemed easy then.

Gyatso told us of his struggle with the Sikkim Government regarding the various dam projects coming up in Sikkim, especially in Dzongu, where he lives. Dzongu area, as we would find out the day after, comprises largely of hills covered by beautiful forests interspersed with picturesque Lepcha villages. Some of Dzongu is motorable. Rest of it provides great treks. But the dams now threaten to dry out the river flowing through the area. This will force the already few Lepcha people (the Vanishing Tribe, as they are called), to head for cities. The discussion soon drifted to system, society, democracy, government, right, wrong etc. Basically we were getting HIT, drinking the beer. It was raining when we finally left and had to pay extra to the taxi guy for taking us to the hotel.

The next morning started with bad news that no permits were being issued to Gurudongmar lake. There had been two landslides near Changuthang. But there was still hope. Gyatso promised us that he’ll arrange the permits to come upto Mangan the next day.

We went to MG Road and had breakfast at someplace called Baker’s (?). A sign outside claimed ‘great coffee’, on a sign board. It sucked. The coffee was really bad. We quickly got out from there to stroll on MG Road, which turned out to be pretty boring. We went to ride the ropeway opposite to our hotel. That was boring too. By then, it was time for our taxi and so we reached the Vajra stand. After a little wait, some photos, and a trip to the wine shop, we set-off.

Some time later, a sign greeted us to North Sikkim. The scenery became prettier from then on. We reached the Seven Sister’s fall a little while later and had Chai and hot Samosas there. The falls were pretty big. Had we known that we were to see so many water falls in the days to follow, we would not have clicked so many photos though.

Finally, when we reached Mangan, somebody informed us that there had been a landslide in the way to Dzongu. By the time we reached that landslide, it had become dark and rain was coming down hard. We got down just before the landslide and picked up all our bags and everything. But nothing had prepared us for what came next.

There were headlights at the other end of the landslide, while our own showed from this. And we crossed .. Through knee-deep mud, carrying everything we came with, and listening to the sounds of the river, the rain and the insects. Someone later told us that the river was really fast and a little fall from the landslide site would have carried us right into it. Good adventure!

We reached Gyatso’s place in some time. His wife cooked us excellent food and a welcome cup of chai. They even made arrangements for us to stay at their place. We had done nothing to deserve such great hospitality, but it was to be just the beginning. Later that night, over half a bottle of good scotch, we learnt that Gyatso and his wife run a Home Stay. This is an eco-tourism concept started by some NGOs working in the area. You get to stay at a Lepcha house, enjoying their hospitality and great food (all of which is grown/ bred in and around their homes). It was a great experience for us.

The next day we woke up to beautiful lush green surroundings, traditional Lepcha salt tea and bright sunshine (thankfully). Finally we could see where we exactly were. The house was built on the side of a hill, with trees all around it and you could hear the river all the time. It was beautiful.

We got our daily dose bad news shortly. There were no permits coming, and there was hardly any hope for the next day. We were running out of time too. A trip to Gurudongmar Lake requires at least 2 days. Or so we thought.

To lift our spirits, Gyatso took us to Lingthem, a steep climb from his house. From here we were to get good views of Dzongu and Mt. Kanchenjunga. We never saw the great Mountain however. Clouds never parted, all the time we were there in Sikkim. All we managed was the tip of the great mountain and imagined how it must look. Well, it would have appeared really huge from that place, that is certain.

The climb to the place was pretty steep and my calves were aching even after 3 days, but the day was far from over. After coming down, we took a taxi from Passingdang Village (where we were staying) to Lingzya falls. This water fall was pretty high. We got into the cold water at it’s base and enjoyed soaking there for a good one hour. It was real fun, standing almost under the waterfall, in the middle of nowhere.

After reaching back home, we had a quick lunch of lip-smackingly tasty pork momos and set-off for RongyungChu River. Down the hill we went (me thinking about the climb back, all the time). The scene by the river was simply stunning. We just sat there absorbing the view, taking pictures and tossing stones into the river. The climb back was better than anticipated but left us pretty tired.

When we got back, Gyatso greeted us with a jug full of ‘Chee’, the traditional Lepcha drink. Chee is like Chhang you get elsewhere in Sikkim, made from Millets. Pretty tasty. This was followed by a great dinner of Beef, pork and dal chawal. We were too tired for anything after that and went off to sleep immediately.

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast of Lepcha bread, and left for Mangan. The landslide was still not cleared, but this time thankfully we did not have to go through the mud. We took a narrow trail up the hill from the start of the landslide to reach the Taxi. En-route to Mangan, we got the first good news. Permits were being issued from that day. Gyatso was arranging everything and the taxi that was to take us to Gurudongmar was the same one we were sitting in. We got off at Mangan and waited while Gyatso was arranging everything. A long wait later, Gyatso informed us that we didn’t get the permits.

Thus began .. a very unlucky day. Well it could be called lucky in hindsight now. But back then, it seemed that everything that could go wrong, was going wrong.

When the day had started, we had no hope of going to Gurudongmar and had resigned to the fact that we must go back to Gangtok, to possibly visit Nathu-La and Changu lake. Then we received the good news that it was possible, and then again bad news. It was too much to go back to the Gangtok plan again. Then Gyatso made another phone call. This time to a friend whose friend was a Government official who could issue us the permits. Hope!

Turns out he had left Mangan only an hour ago and would not be back before evening. Called him again and requested him and he said he would ‘try to come earlier’. Having confirmed with the driver, Palden, the feasibility of the trip, we went to get documents xeroxed. But there was no electricity anywhere in Mangan. Finally after three hours, electric supply resumed and we got the necessary papers. The official finally came back and Gyatso went on a friend’s bike to get our permits. Some time later a very harried looking Gyatso arrived back in a taxi. The bike had had a puncture. We had also forgotten to give him J’s photos. He took the photos and went back hurrying. Then another long wait later, Gyatso came back. By then it was dark. It had also started to rain (which increased the chances of a landslide). Gyatso informed us that while he had gotten the permits, in all the hurry, he had forgotten his mobile in the taxi and that taxi guy promptly switched it off (stole it). We felt so bad for him that our already low excitement levels plummeted immediately. Add to that, all our local contacts, including Palden’s number was lost with that mobile. Fortunately Gyatso knew where Palden lived and we went there in another taxi. We waited some more as Palden prepared for the trip (he thought we had given up the idea). By the time we sat in the car, we were not even sure we wanted take the journey to Lachen. After all it was night driving in the hills, and everything was already going wrong.

There were further stops to buy glue for photographs, and to get the permit Xeroxed. Finally we were on the way, but no one was saying anything. We were feeling pretty superstitious actually, and we were worried. Things that would not have meant anything on any other day, made us weary then. Gyatso told us that Palden’s wife had not wanted him to go (bad omen). A little while later, a cat ran across the path of the car (cat cutting your path is considered ultimate bad luck here). I and N just looked at each other, but didn’t say anything (we tend to be more superstitious than J). Then, at the first check-post, the police guy won’t let us through. Another wait and some money later we were on our way.

The days perils, thankfully, were over. Things improved from then on. The police guy at the second check-post was a good guy and let us through very quickly. Then slowly we regained our voices, and our sense of humor. By the time we reached Changuthang, we were feeling much better . Besides, Palden was very good with the car and that helped build my confidence a great deal.

The sights on the way to Lachen were good (not the road though). First there were the Dam projects with their strong flood lights. Next, all kinds of animals got in our way. There were jackals, wild cats, dogs, goats and cows, some of whom just refused get up from the middle of the road! We had to bump them lightly to make them move. One time, three cows were sitting in the middle of our way while the song ‘Hat ja re’ (get aside) from Dev.D was playing inside our car, We burst out laughing as N pointed this out.

We finally reached Lachen at 11:30 in the night, with reasonably good spirits. Palden called up a hotel and arranged for two rooms for us. There was no electricity there the whole night (and the morning), so we could not charge our mobiles and cameras. We slept after an hour and got up in another three. We were off at 4:30 in the morning, when the noisy Bengalis in the hotel had just begun to stir. From my experience, 4:30 am is THE best time to leave from Lachen.

The sky began to lighten up by around 5 and a little later, we were in heaven. Lush green scenery and crystal clear river water surrounded us. It was a scene straight out of a painting. And it got only better as we progressed. We stopped at Thangu for some tea. The beauty of the town is seen to be believed. There were wooden houses and Buddhist prayer flags with a winding road running through their middle. Dried wood was stocked in front of the houses and smoke from their morning prayers hung over each of them. In the distance were green hills, and the meandering river. The tea shop itself consisted of a simple kitchen, with the traditional wood burning chullah (stove), some benches, tables, utensils and a cabinet which had a picture of the old tea-shop lady with two foreign tourists. A bright red curtain hung over a door and two windows opened to the vast Thangu valley, clouds obscuring the hills in the distance.

After Thangu, the big trees slowly thinned out and after some time, it was only shrubs and lichen. The journey from there was simply too amazing to be expressed in words. There was nothing to do but absorb as much of the scene, as we could. See the pictures. Even pictures can just hint at the beauty of that place. It has to be seen to be believed.

The journey back to Gangtok was hectic and we were very tired & sleepy. The roads were pretty bad and the bumps eliminated any chances of sleeping in the car (except N, who slept peacefully on the last seat). We encountered two landslides on the way (one of them resulted in a 2 hour traffic jam), and we were stuck with the most boring Army soldier ever. He was lucky enough to be offered a lift in our car. What seemed to be an act of immense kindness soon turned out to be a big mistake as the guy bored us to no end with his talk about everything we were not interested in. Later we had a lot of fun at his expense.

We reached back to Mangan at about 5:30 pm, giving rise to the phrase “to Gurudongmar and back, in 22 hours”. The drive to Gangtok was completed impatiently, and we went off to sleep as soon as we could, on reaching there.

The next day we left for Bagdogra airport at 9 in the morning and reached airport well in time. We took our Jet Konnect flight back to Delhi. It was an old plane and they ran out of food, can you imagine! And clouds covered all the views of the Himalayas there were to be had.

A GREAT trip nonetheless.

Can you suggest me the accommodations in Dzongu and how to book it?

Hi Asansangmeet .. Dzongu is a protected area for he Lepchas and as such there are no hotels in there. You can however stay in a home-stay there. My friend Gyatso runs one, as I mentioned in my log. You can check out the place on his website : http://www.mayallyang.com/ .

Let me know if you require any further info on Dzongu.

username_x, thanks for sharing your trip log & photos. I loved your pics! Your sense of composition is great. Loved your 360 deg views of Gurudongmar.... wish I could see larger pics, though. Which camera & lens do you use?
I got back from a long trip to Sikkim in Dec end. It was good to see your Sep pics...brought back so many memories of all the places that I too visited, including Dzongu. But, all the places looked so different in Sep from when I saw them in Dec....was nice to see it.

Thanks Raji. S
I too wish I could post a bigger pic of Gurudongmar Panorama .. but Flickr has it's limitations .. Here is a slightly bigger pic http://picasaweb.google.com/ankitdew...78822190079954 . Click on the little magnifying button above the top right corner of the photo.
I use Nikon D60 with the kit lens, i.e. 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens.

Yeah .. it was raining when I went there .. so everywhere was so green! December must have been white near the Gurudongmar Lake ..

Thanks for the larger pic... it is beautiful! Is it a stitched shot? I have a D80 & I shot the lake with my 12-24 & now have to stitch it together, which I'm bad at! Yes, Gurudongmar was frozen when we went.... like an ice sheet!

Nice .. must have had great wide-angle shots then ..
Yes .. I siched some photos together using Photoshop ... it is pretty easy (if you have software). Google for a tutorial ..

The 360 deg view of Gurudongmar Lake is awesome ...
How to click that?

For a panoramic view, you need to click multiple photos with about 30% or so of overlap, i.e. about 30% of the are in one photo should also be there in the next photo. You need to set the camera to manual focus, and keep the Aperture and Shutter values fixed (Manual settings). White balance too should be set to some fixed value. I used a tripod so that the camera rotated only on the vertical axis.
All the photos can later be stitched together in Photoshop, which helps you to do it. A good tutorial: http://digital-photography-school.co...and-photomerge